Question by jessica a: Are the hard feelings between russia and the West all about money?
After WWI the US gave russia 8 billion rubles in aid that was never repaid. The rest of the allies added another 5 billion rubles. During and after WWII russia received 20 billion US dollars in aid from the US and Canada and never paid any back. 10 billion dollars in grain from the US in the 70’s again never paid back. Without aid from the the billions of dollars of aid from the allies there wouldn’t be a russia today. In your opinion, how has this affected relationships between russian and the West?
WOW guy easy. For a Texas rancher you sure get fired up. HAHA
Answers and Views:
Answer by SNK1
of course
What do you think? Answer below!
Kevin F says
It's never about money but about power. Russia wants to maintain her position as a world power & wants to have a big say in the former soviet bloc countries, some of whom are now NATO members & most of whom look to the West for economic partnerships.
w.m.d's_bro says
HA HA HA, russia has repaid back all it's debts, including the paris club debts, and also cancelled all african debts, which the u.s and its allies refuse to do…haha who's had the last laugh now? if you think that by expanding n.a.t.o memeber countires by including former soviet block countires is going to make grabbing russia's oil ,gas, and natural mineral wealth that easy think again!! they will be wiped off like nazi germany. why is it nazi sympathsisers can't handle the truth?
Randy D says
I think to isolate US/USSR conflicts to unremitted loans is to ignore HUGE issues in culture and history. A wonderful book, "Peter the Great" by Robert K. Massie (1980) reveals age old entertwinings of Russian and European cultures and royalties that is essential in understanding the cold war conflicts as well as the continued conflicts today. And as much as I've read and re-read WWI & II issues over the years, I have come to realize, or suspect, that much of the conflict between "the East" and "the West" has to do with the different experiences each had with Nazi Germany and how we, the U.S. misunderstood, to some extent deliberately, Russia's incredible destruction they suffered at the hands of Germany. That's not to absolve Joseph Stalin from all the horrors he caused, but it is to say that the conflict between "the East" and "the West" is much more than money, and unremitted loans, but it helps us to keep it that way so we don't have to undertake understanding the international entertwinings that has gone on between Russia and the West for centuries, and the single horrible experience they had with Nazi Germany. I'm sure the points you make over the billions the U.S. gave Russia over the years is true and is a strong point in the conflict, but I have a hunch that the issues I have pointed to are bigger than the money issues. The same is true with Germany and the rest of Europe, especially England, but then, that has too many other twists to discuss now. Thanks for bringing up the issues. I do love history. God Bless you.
mel says
there are no hard feelings, but russia has some oil I bet we'd like..